Executive summary

1  The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is now established as a major form of Government procurement. It is used to procure a wide range of public services, including hospitals, prisons, roads, computer systems and Government accommodation. There are over 400 PFI contracts currently in force committing departments to future expenditure of around £100 billion.

2  Although there is now considerable experience of the PFI procurement process, there is much less experience of the issues that arise once the contract has been let. Most PFI contracts are still in their early stages. It is important, therefore, that initial lessons arising from the management of these contracts, some of which relate to how the contracts were procured, are identified and disseminated quickly to authorities so that they can be taken into account in current and future projects.

3  This report highlights key issues which authorities need to keep in mind when developing and managing relationships with private sector PFI contractors.